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TeXFlow

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TeXFlow

TeXFlow

A document authoring and composition MCP server that provides a pipeline for document creation: Content → Processing → Output. TeXFlow transforms your ideas into typeset documents using LaTeX, Markdown, and modern document processing tools.

🚀 Key Innovation: Collaborative Document Editing

This server introduces collaborative editing capabilities that prevent conflicts when multiple agents (human or AI) work on the same documents:

  • Change Detection: Automatically detects when documents are modified externally

  • Diff Visualization: Shows unified diffs of what changed between edits

  • Conflict Prevention: Refuses to overwrite external changes, protecting everyone's work

  • AI-to-AI Collaboration: Enables multiple AI agents to work together on documents without conflicts

Core Value Proposition

TeXFlow enables MCP-compatible AI clients (Claude Desktop, Dive AI, or custom implementations) to have document workflow capabilities with project-based organization. Your AI assistant becomes a document authoring companion that can:

  • Create and manage document projects with organized structure

  • Author content in Markdown or LaTeX with proper project context

  • Transform documents through a sophisticated processing pipeline

  • Generate beautiful PDFs with professional typography

  • Print or export documents in various formats

🚀 Quick Start with Projects

# Create a new document project create_project("my-paper", "article") # Created project 'my-paper' at ~/Documents/TeXFlow/my-paper # Write content (automatically saved to project) save_markdown("# Introduction\n\nThis is my paper.", "intro.md") # Markdown saved to project 'my-paper': content/intro.md # Generate PDF (automatically saved to project/output/pdf/) markdown_to_pdf(file_path="intro.md", output_path="intro.pdf") # PDF saved to project 'my-paper': output/pdf/intro.pdf # Switch between projects use_project("thesis-2024") list_projects() # See all your document projects

🎯 Semantic Tool Organization

TeXFlow's tools are organized into 9 semantic operations for easier discovery and use:

  • 📄 Document - Create, edit, convert, and validate documents

  • 🖨️ Output - Print and export to various formats

  • 📁 Project - Organize work into logical units

  • 🔍 Discover - Find documents, fonts, and resources

  • 📦 Organizer - Archive, move, clean documents and auxiliary files

  • 🖨️ Printer - Manage printing hardware

  • 💡 Workflow - Get guidance and automation

  • 📋 Templates - Start from pre-built document templates

  • 📚 Reference - LaTeX documentation search and help

See Tool Reference for detailed documentation of all tools.

Features

📁 Project-Based Document Management

  • Create organized document projects with templates (article, thesis, letter)

  • Automatic project structure with content/, output/, and assets/ directories

  • Switch between projects seamlessly

  • Project-aware file paths for better organization

  • All documents in one project stay together

Printing

  • List available CUPS printers with status information

  • Print plain text directly

  • Print Markdown documents (rendered to PDF via pandoc)

  • Print files from the filesystem

  • Automatic file type detection

Document Creation & Saving

  • Convert Markdown to PDF without printing

  • Save Markdown content to .md files

  • Save LaTeX content to .tex files

  • Print LaTeX documents with full XeLaTeX compilation

  • Smart path handling with Documents folder default

  • Automatic file renaming to avoid overwrites

Printer Management

  • Get detailed printer information

  • Set default printer

  • Enable/disable printers

  • Update printer descriptions and locations

Collaborative Document Editing 🤝

  • Read documents with line numbers for precise editing

  • Make targeted edits with string replacement and validation

  • Track external changes with modification time and content hashing

  • Show diffs when documents are edited outside the AI session

  • Prevent conflicts between multiple editors (human or AI)

  • Check document status to see what changed since last read

  • Enable safe concurrent editing workflows

Document Archiving & Version Management 📦

  • Archive (soft delete) documents to hidden .texflow_archive folder

  • List and browse archived documents

  • Restore archived documents to original or new location

  • Find versions of a document (current and archived)

  • Bulk cleanup with pattern matching (e.g., archive _old files)

  • Preserves document history with timestamps

Smart Features

  • Dependency checking at startup

  • Conditional tool registration based on available dependencies

  • Clear feedback when dependencies are missing

  • Automatic file type detection and appropriate handling

Prerequisites

Required

  • Linux system with CUPS installed

  • Python 3.10+

Optional (for additional features)

  • pandoc - For markdown to PDF conversion

    • Debian/Ubuntu: apt install pandoc

    • Fedora: dnf install pandoc

    • Arch: pacman -S pandoc

  • weasyprint - For HTML to PDF conversion

    • Debian/Ubuntu: apt install weasyprint

    • Fedora: dnf install weasyprint

    • Arch: pacman -S python-weasyprint

  • rsvg-convert - For SVG to PDF conversion

    • Debian/Ubuntu: apt install librsvg2-bin

    • Fedora: dnf install librsvg2-tools

    • Arch: pacman -S librsvg

  • LaTeX/XeLaTeX - For PDF generation from markdown and LaTeX documents

    Core Requirements:

    • XeLaTeX engine for PDF compilation

    • Latin Modern fonts for proper text rendering

    • Standard LaTeX packages for document formatting

    Installation by Distribution:

    • Debian/Ubuntu:

      # Essential packages apt install texlive-xetex texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-latex-recommended # For TikZ diagrams and graphics (if needed) apt install texlive-pictures # For LaTeX validation (chktex) apt install chktex

    • Fedora:

      # Essential packages dnf install texlive-xetex texlive-collection-fontsrecommended # For TikZ diagrams and graphics (if needed) dnf install texlive-collection-pictures # For LaTeX validation (chktex) dnf install texlive-chktex

    • Arch:

      # Essential packages pacman -S texlive-xetex texlive-fontsrecommended # For TikZ diagrams and graphics (if needed) pacman -S texlive-pictures # For LaTeX validation (chktex) pacman -S texlive-binextra

    What Each Package Provides:

    • texlive-xetex: XeLaTeX engine and fontspec package

    • texlive-fonts-recommended: Latin Modern, Computer Modern, and other standard fonts

    • texlive-latex-recommended: Essential LaTeX packages (geometry, etc.)

    • texlive-pictures: TikZ package for creating diagrams and graphics

    • chktex/texlive-binextra: LaTeX validation tools for checking syntax

The server checks for these dependencies at startup and enables features that have their requirements met. Missing dependencies are reported with installation instructions.

Installation

# Install system dependencies (choose your distribution) # Debian/Ubuntu - Full installation with all features sudo apt-get install cups pandoc texlive-xetex texlive-fonts-recommended \ texlive-latex-recommended texlive-pictures chktex \ weasyprint librsvg2-bin # Fedora - Full installation with all features sudo dnf install cups pandoc texlive-xetex texlive-collection-fontsrecommended \ texlive-collection-pictures texlive-chktex \ weasyprint librsvg2-tools # Arch - Full installation with all features sudo pacman -S cups pandoc texlive-xetex texlive-fontsrecommended \ texlive-pictures texlive-binextra \ python-weasyprint librsvg # Clone and install git clone https://github.com/aaronsb/texflow-mcp cd texflow-mcp uv sync

Quick Start

Option 1: Run directly from GitHub (Recommended)

No installation needed! Just ensure you have uv installed and run:

# Install uv if you haven't already curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh # Run TeXFlow directly from GitHub uvx --from git+https://github.com/aaronsb/texflow-mcp.git texflow

Option 2: Clone and run locally

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/aaronsb/texflow-mcp cd texflow-mcp # Run the server uv run texflow

Usage

Quick Start - 9 Unified Tools

TeXFlow provides 9 semantic tools that intelligently guide your document workflow:

1. document - Create, edit, and transform documents

# Create with auto-format detection document(action="create", content="# My Paper", intent="research") # Convert existing files (don't recreate!) document(action="convert", source="notes.md", target_format="latex") # Edit with conflict detection document(action="edit", path="paper.tex", old_string="draft", new_string="final")

2. output - Print or export documents

# Print existing file (preferred) output(action="print", source="report.pdf") # Export to PDF output(action="export", source="notes.md", output_path="notes.pdf")

3. project - Organize your work

# Create project with AI-guided structure project(action="create", name="thesis", description="PhD thesis on quantum computing") # Switch projects project(action="switch", name="thesis")

4. printer - Manage printing hardware

printer(action="list") # Show all printers printer(action="set_default", name="Office_Laser")

5. discover - Find resources

discover(action="documents", folder="drafts") # Find documents discover(action="fonts", style="serif") # Browse fonts

6. archive - Manage versions

archive(action="versions", filename="paper.tex") # Find all versions archive(action="cleanup", pattern="*_old*") # Clean old files

7. workflow - Get intelligent guidance

workflow(action="suggest", task="write paper with citations") workflow(action="next_steps") # What to do next

Each tool provides hints for next steps, guiding you through complex workflows.

Complete Tool Reference

For detailed documentation of all 9 tools, see Tool Reference.

Legacy Tool Documentation

For users still using individual tools, the original tool documentation follows below. Note that the unified semantic tools above are the recommended approach.

print_text

Prints plain text content.

{ "name": "print_text", "arguments": { "content": "Hello, World!", "printer": "Brother_HL_L2350DW" // optional } }

print_markdown

Prints Markdown content rendered as PDF via pandoc and XeLaTeX.

Supports:

  • Standard markdown formatting (headers, lists, tables, code blocks)

  • LaTeX math expressions (inline with $, display with $$)

  • Latin scripts including European languages

  • Greek and Cyrillic alphabets

  • Basic symbols and punctuation

Limited support for:

  • Complex Unicode (emoji, box drawing characters)

  • Right-to-left scripts (Arabic, Hebrew)

  • CJK characters (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)

{ "name": "print_markdown", "arguments": { "content": "# My Document\n\nThis is **bold** text.\n\nMath: $E = mc^2$", "printer": "HP_LaserJet", // optional "title": "My Document" // optional } }

print_file

Prints a file from the filesystem.

{ "name": "print_file", "arguments": { "path": "/path/to/document.pdf", "printer": "Canon_PIXMA" // optional } }

get_printer_info

Get detailed information about a specific printer including status, make/model, location, and URI.

{ "name": "get_printer_info", "arguments": { "printer_name": "My_Printer" } }

set_default_printer

Change the default printer.

{ "name": "set_default_printer", "arguments": { "printer_name": "CanonG3260" } }

enable_printer / disable_printer

Control printer availability for accepting jobs.

{ "name": "enable_printer", "arguments": { "printer_name": "My_Printer" } }

update_printer_info

Update printer description and/or location.

{ "name": "update_printer_info", "arguments": { "printer_name": "My_Printer", "description": "Office Color Laser", "location": "Room 201" } }

markdown_to_pdf

Convert markdown to PDF and save to a file (without printing).

Supports:

  • Same markdown features as print_markdown

  • Saves PDF to specified path instead of printing

{ "name": "markdown_to_pdf", "arguments": { "content": "# My Document\n\nSave this as PDF.", "output_path": "report.pdf", // Saves to ~/Documents/report.pdf by default "title": "My Document" } }

print_latex

Print LaTeX content (compiled to PDF via XeLaTeX).

Supports:

  • Full LaTeX syntax and packages

  • Mathematical formulas and equations

  • TikZ diagrams and graphics

  • Bibliography and citations

  • Custom document classes

{ "name": "print_latex", "arguments": { "content": "\\documentclass{article}\n\\begin{document}\nHello LaTeX!\n\\end{document}", "printer": "My_Printer", // optional "title": "My LaTeX Doc" // optional } }

save_markdown

Save markdown content to a .md file.

{ "name": "save_markdown", "arguments": { "content": "# My Document\n\nThis is my markdown content.", "filename": "notes.md" // Saves to ~/Documents/notes.md by default } }

save_latex

Save LaTeX content to a .tex file.

{ "name": "save_latex", "arguments": { "content": "\\documentclass{article}\n\\begin{document}\nHello LaTeX!\n\\end{document}", "filename": "document.tex" // Saves to ~/Documents/document.tex by default } }

list_documents

List PDF and Markdown files in the Documents folder.

{ "name": "list_documents", "arguments": { "folder": "reports" // Optional: list files in ~/Documents/reports } }

print_from_documents

Print a PDF or Markdown file from the Documents folder.

{ "name": "print_from_documents", "arguments": { "filename": "report.pdf", // or just "report" - will find .pdf or .md "printer": "My_Printer", // optional "folder": "reports" // optional subfolder } }

Features:

  • Automatically finds .pdf or .md extension if not specified

  • Converts Markdown files to PDF before printing

  • Works with subfolders in Documents

markdown_to_latex

Convert a Markdown file to LaTeX format for further customization.

{ "name": "markdown_to_latex", "arguments": { "file_path": "research_notes.md", // Path to markdown file "output_path": "research_paper.tex", // Optional: output path "title": "My Research Paper", // Optional: document title "standalone": true // Optional: create complete document (default: true) } }

Features:

  • Converts Markdown to editable LaTeX format

  • Preserves math expressions, tables, and formatting

  • Adds conversion metadata as comments

  • Allows fine-tuning before final PDF compilation

  • Part of the markdown → LaTeX → PDF workflow

Workflow example:

1. save_markdown(content="...", filename="notes.md") 2. markdown_to_latex(file_path="notes.md") # Creates notes.tex 3. edit_document(file_path="notes.tex", ...) # Optional: customize 4. latex_to_pdf(file_path="notes.tex", output_path="final.pdf")

list_available_fonts

List fonts available for use with XeLaTeX documents.

{ "name": "list_available_fonts", "arguments": { "style": "serif" // Optional: filter by 'serif', 'sans', 'mono', or None for all } }

Features:

  • Lists all system fonts compatible with XeLaTeX

  • Filter by font style (serif, sans-serif, monospace)

  • Groups fonts alphabetically for easy browsing

  • Provides usage examples for LaTeX documents

  • Shows popular font recommendations

validate_latex

Validate LaTeX content for syntax errors before compilation.

{ "name": "validate_latex", "arguments": { "content": "\\documentclass{article}\n\\begin{document}\nHello!\n\\end{document}" } }

Features:

  • Uses lacheck and chktex for syntax checking (if available)

  • Performs test compilation with XeLaTeX

  • Returns detailed error reports and warnings

  • Helps catch errors before printing

read_document

Read a document file with line numbers for editing.

{ "name": "read_document", "arguments": { "file_path": "proposal.tex", // or full path "offset": 1, // starting line (optional, default: 1) "limit": 50 // number of lines (optional, default: 50) } }

Features:

  • Returns content with line numbers in cat -n format

  • Works with any text file in Documents folder

  • Smart path handling (defaults to ~/Documents/)

  • Supports reading portions of large files

edit_document

Edit a document file by replacing exact string matches.

{ "name": "edit_document", "arguments": { "file_path": "proposal.tex", "old_string": "Hello World", "new_string": "Hello CUPS MCP", "expected_replacements": 1 // optional, default: 1 } }

Features:

  • Exact string replacement with occurrence validation

  • Returns context snippet showing changes

  • Prevents accidental replacements with count validation

  • Same smart path handling as read_document

  • Collaborative editing support: Detects external file changes and shows diffs

  • Prevents overwrites when user has edited file externally

  • Automatically tracks file modifications for safe concurrent editing

check_document_status

Check if a document has been modified externally and show changes.

{ "name": "check_document_status", "arguments": { "file_path": "proposal.tex" // or full path } }

Features:

  • Tracks document modification times and content hashes

  • Detects external changes made by users or other programs

  • Shows unified diff of what changed since last read

  • Helps coordinate collaborative editing between AI and users

  • Essential for preventing conflicting edits in shared documents

Path handling for save tools:

  • Simple filename (e.g., report.pdf) → Saves to ~/Documents/

  • Full path (e.g., /home/user/Documents/report.pdf) → Uses exact path

  • Path with ~ (e.g., ~/Downloads/report.pdf) → Expands to home directory

Automatic features:

  • Creates Documents directory if it doesn't exist

  • Generates unique filename if file already exists (adds _1, _2, etc.)

  • Returns clear error messages for permission issues or other failures

AI Agent Guidelines

Printer Selection Logic

When using the printing tools, AI agents should follow this logic:

  1. First print request:

    • If user doesn't specify, ask: "Would you like to print or save as PDF?"

    • If printing and no default printer exists, ask which printer to use

    • Remember the chosen printer for the session

  2. Subsequent requests:

    • Use the remembered printer from the first request

    • Only change if user explicitly specifies a different printer

File Paths

When saving PDFs with markdown_to_pdf:

  • Use simple filenames (e.g., report.pdf) which save to ~/Documents/

  • Don't assume the user's home directory path

  • Let the tool handle path expansion

This ensures users aren't repeatedly asked about printer selection and files are saved to predictable locations.

Configuration for Claude Desktop and Claude Code

Important: Workspace Path

TeXFlow requires a workspace path where all your document projects will be stored. This is passed as the last argument to the texflow command.

For Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop uses a JSON configuration file to manage MCP servers. The location depends on your operating system:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Method 1: Run from GitHub (Recommended)

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "texflow": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/aaronsb/texflow-mcp.git", "texflow", "/home/aaron/Documents/TeXFlow"] } } }

Note: Replace /home/aaron/Documents/TeXFlow with your desired workspace path.

Method 2: Run from local directory

If you've cloned the repository locally:

{ "mcpServers": { "texflow": { "command": "uv", "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/texflow-mcp", "run", "texflow", "/home/aaron/Documents/TeXFlow"] } } }

Note: Replace /path/to/texflow-mcp with the actual path to your cloned repository.

After editing the config file, restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

For Claude Code

Claude Code provides a CLI command to add MCP servers. You can choose between different scopes:

  • --scope user: Available across all your projects (recommended)

  • --scope project: Only available in the current project

  • --scope local: Available only on this machine

Method 1: Run from GitHub (Recommended)

# Add with user scope (available in all projects) claude mcp add --scope user texflow uvx -- --from git+https://github.com/aaronsb/texflow-mcp.git texflow ~/Documents/TeXFlow # Or with project scope (current project only) claude mcp add --scope project texflow uvx -- --from git+https://github.com/aaronsb/texflow-mcp.git texflow ~/Documents/TeXFlow

Method 2: Run from local directory

If you've cloned the repository:

# Add with user scope claude mcp add --scope user texflow uv -- --directory /path/to/texflow-mcp run texflow ~/Documents/TeXFlow # Or with project scope claude mcp add --scope project texflow uv -- --directory /path/to/texflow-mcp run texflow ~/Documents/TeXFlow

Note: The -- after the scope is required to separate Claude Code options from the command arguments.

Workspace Path Options

You can specify the workspace path in three ways:

  1. Command line argument: ~/Documents/TeXFlow as shown in the examples above

  2. Environment variable: Set TEXFLOW_WORKSPACE=~/Documents/TeXFlow in your shell or system environment

  3. Default: If neither is provided, defaults to ~/Documents/TeXFlow

All TeXFlow projects and documents will be created within this workspace directory.

Verifying Installation

After installation, you can verify TeXFlow is working by asking Claude to:

  1. List available TeXFlow projects: "Use texflow to list my projects"

  2. Check system dependencies: "Check texflow system dependencies"

  3. Create a test project: "Create a new texflow project called 'test'"

AI-to-AI Collaboration 🤖🤝🤖

The collaborative editing features enable fascinating multi-agent workflows:

Use Cases

  • Parallel Document Development: Multiple AI agents can work on different sections simultaneously

  • Review Workflows: One AI drafts, another reviews and edits

  • Specialized Collaboration: Domain-specific AIs (e.g., technical writer + code reviewer) working together

  • Iterative Refinement: AIs can build upon each other's contributions with full visibility

How It Works

  1. Agent A reads and edits a document, establishing a baseline

  2. Agent B detects Agent A's changes through the diff system

  3. Agent B reviews the changes before making its own contributions

  4. Each agent maintains awareness of others' modifications through the tracking system

Example Workflow

# Agent 1 (Technical Writer AI) - Creates initial documentation structure - Writes API reference sections # Agent 2 (Code Examples AI) - Detects Agent 1's additions - Adds code examples to each API section - Preserves Agent 1's documentation # Agent 3 (Review AI) - Sees combined work from both agents - Fixes inconsistencies - Adds cross-references

This opens up entirely new possibilities for AI collaboration on complex documentation and content creation tasks.

Examples

Common Workflows

Academic Paper with Citations

# Create project structure project(action="create", name="ml-paper", description="Machine learning research paper") # Create bibliography document(action="create", content="@article{smith2023,...}", path="refs.bib") # Create main document document(action="create", content="\\documentclass{article}...", path="paper.tex") # Export to PDF output(action="export", source="paper.tex", output_path="paper.pdf")

Convert and Edit Workflow

# Convert existing Markdown notes to LaTeX document(action="convert", source="notes.md", target_format="latex") # Edit the converted file document(action="edit", path="notes.tex", old_string="TODO", new_string="Introduction") # Generate PDF output(action="export", source="notes.tex")

Workflow Features

The system prevents common AI workflow issues:

  1. Smart Content Detection: The server detects when LaTeX content has already been saved and warns against regenerating it

  2. Clear Tool Guidance: Tool descriptions guide the preferred workflow (save → use file path)

  3. Better Error Handling: LaTeX error parser provides specific package installation instructions

Example of the improved workflow:

# Step 1: Save LaTeX content save_latex(content="...", filename="paper.tex") # Returns: "LaTeX saved successfully to: /home/user/Documents/paper.tex" # Step 2: Convert to PDF using file path (not content!) latex_to_pdf(file_path="/home/user/Documents/paper.tex", output_path="paper.pdf") # Efficient: Uses saved file instead of regenerating content

Documentation

Future Enhancements

  • HTML to PDF printing (via weasyprint)

  • SVG to PDF printing (via rsvg-convert)

  • Image format handling and scaling

  • Print job status tracking

  • Print job cancellation

  • Printer options (paper size, orientation, etc.)

  • Base64 encoded content support

License

MIT

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